Thursday, January 10, 2013

A trip back in time...plus cats

There's
nothing like a trip to an Egyptian museum to remind you how finite life
is. I recently visited the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose to
do some research for my next book, and I felt like I was stepping back
in time. I mean, way back, like in Mr. Peabody's WABAC machine. Like thousands and thousands of years back. Really creepy back.

Thank
goodness we didn't bring the grandchildren. This place would have
scared the beetle dung out of them. Actually, I learned that beetle dung
plays an important part in Egyptian Cycle of Life mythology, hence my
use of that particular analogy.

We went in December, hoping to
avoid the stress of the holidays and spend some time in a serene
setting. We couldn't have picked a more serene place. When you're among
mummies and artifacts of dead people, there's no escaping serenity.

The
museum is made up of four rooms, each with a different theme, sort of
like Disneyland but without the rides, etc. We started in the Daily Life
room, which houses artifacts such as hair accessories, mirrors and
perfume bottles. I realized we women haven't come that far, considering
we're using the same things they used thousands and thousands of years
ago. I also found out they drank a lot of beer -- more of the cycle of
life.

We learned lots of Egyptian facts, in case we're ever on
"Jeopardy." Things like how important cats were as far back as 6,000
years ago. The museum even had mummified cats that were buried with their owners. Egyptians
thought of their cats as magical protectors. Some cats wore jewelry,
like earrings, and had fancy names, like "Ta-Miewet," "Bastet," and
"Kitty."All of today's cats are descendants of Egyptian cats. No wonder
our cats act like they're something special.

The museum offers a
how-to guide on mummifying. If you're interested, here are the basics:
First wash the body. Then cast a bunch of magical spells over it. Then
give it to Anubis, the god of embalming. Anubis drains all the fluids
(bodies are mostly water and beer), removes the brains (don't need them
in the afterlife), and removes the innards, except for the heart. Next
he pours wine over the area to disinfect it. (Have some wine yourself if
you're feeling squeamish.)Then dry out the innards and place
them in canopic, or "jelly" jars. Douse the skin with perfume, since
dead bodies usually have an odor about them, then wrap the body up tight
with festive fabric. Drop in a few amulets -- lucky charms, like
scarabs (those dung beetles) -- and place in coffin. Decorate the
outside with poster paints, sequins and other craft materials.

On
our way out we dropped by the "gift store," which is little more than a
countertop with some cool papyrus bookmarks. I was hoping to buy some
amulets for good luck, or even a cat mummy toy for Tiger, Max and Baby
to play with, but the bookmarks would have to do.

I learned a lot,
mostly that we don't do enough for our cats. Must get Max a Rolex, Baby
some nice earrings and Tiger a tiara. Don't want to lose the good luck
these cats have brought us so far. And all those mice.